With reference to what you have read in this chapter, discuss the influence of China on Vietnam’s culture and life.

Even when an independent country was established in what is now northern and central Vietnam, its rulers continued to maintain the Chinese system of goverment as well as Chinese culture.

(i) Vietnam was also linked to what has been called the maritine silk route that brought in goods, people and ideas.

(ii) Vietnam's religious beliefs were a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism and local practices. Confucius  was a great thinker, religious leader and philosopher of China, whose teachings affected many neighbouring countries including Vietnam.

(iii) The construction of a trans-Indo-China rail network by the French to link the northern and southern parts of Vietnam and China also brought the two countries - China and Vietnam - closer to each other.

(iv) The elites in Vietnam were educated in Chinese and Confucianism.